Chatoyant College Book 9: Sundered

Chapter 6: Information Exchange

They had a surprise at dinner that evening—at least, it was a surprise to Corrie. Leila joined them in the dining hall. She and Edie were waiting there at their usual table, along with Rico and Dawn, when Corrie arrived. She paused before approaching them, unsure for a moment whether her discomfort was with Leila or with the idea that she would be a fifth wheel, then shook her head at her own silliness. She and Leila had made a truce, and should be getting along fine now. And since no one had informed her that there would be a couples' night in the dining hall, and they were sitting at the usual table, they were probably expecting her.

Still, when she did reach them and greet them all with a smile, she put her coat down to claim the seat next to Dawn, across from Leila. "Good to see you, Leila!" she said brightly, hoping her facade wasn't too easy to see through. "What brings you to the dining hall this evening?"

Leila smiled. It seemed stiff, or maybe it was just the way she was sitting with her back completely straight, holding a fork with three fingers as though she was unused to doing so. "Edith invited me, and I thought it would be a lovely change of pace."

Edie smiled at Corrie, though she was toying awkwardly with her own fork. "I just thought, Leila never eats with us, but that's half of our social time, so it seems wrong not to include her."

Corrie nodded. "Makes sense to me. Well, I'll be back in a few. I'm starving."

By the time she returned with a bowl of alphabet soup and a slice of thick brown bread, Annie and Roe had also joined them at the table. She relaxed fractionally at that. At least she wasn't the only uncoupled one now. Though maybe her discomfort meant she should be looking for a new boyfriend. She certainly wouldn't mind some aspects of it...

Lost in her own daydreams and her furtive glances around the dining hall, trying to see if she could spy out any cute guys, she missed part of the conversation going on around her. She only started paying attention when Leila said, "It really does not bother me. I am quite used to the cold."

"But you don't have to be out in the cold all the time," Edie responded. "And you've said the cold makes you slow down. If you come inside where there's heat, you'll feel better."

Corrie blinked at them. "Is Leila not going inside? You can't take classes without going inside, can you?"

"We're just talking about our dorm," Edie explained.

"You need an ID card to get inside Gilkey," Dawn said.

"Well, I know that," Corrie said, momentarily confused. Then she realized that even if Leila did have a Chatoyant College ID, she wouldn't have one that said she lived in Gilkey, so she wouldn't be allowed in without someone to let her in from the other side. "Oh, you mean she should be able to come in when no one is expecting her?"

"Exactly," said Edie.

"That makes sense to me." Corrie slurped up some of her soup, thinking. "Most boyfriends and girlfriends can't do that either, but they can call when they're coming over. You don't have a cell phone, do you?"

Leila shook her head. "I would not enjoy using one even if I could obtain one."

"Don't you have a phone in your dorm room?" Roe asked. "That would be easier than a cell phone, wouldn't it?"

Leila cleared her throat, staring down at her mostly-empty plate. "I do not actually have a room on campus."

"Oh," said Roe. "Uh, sorry."

"I thought Professor Lal might be able to get her an ID card to let her into Gilkey," said Dawn. "Or one of the other faerie teachers. They have authority to get it and they would understand."

"And I said that it is not necessary to go to that much effort," said Leila. "And I doubt that Lal, or any of the others, would be willing to give me access like that for free."

"What if it wasn't for free?" Corrie was thinking, remembering what they knew about Leila and Mardalan—what little there was. "We could do an information exchange."

"What do you mean?" asked Edie.

"Mardalan is your sister, right?" When Leila nodded slowly, Corrie continued. "We don't know where she is. I'm assuming you don't either, but she's still trying to mess with us. If you could tell us and Professor Lal everything you can about her, I think that would be a fair trade for letting you in to see Edie."

Leila tapped her fork against her plate, her slim brows drawn together. "I could give you some information," she said. "But I doubt that it would be a fair trade."